


On Mothers and Others

by maybemarky



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-06-04 18:41:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15153269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maybemarky/pseuds/maybemarky
Summary: "Over the years, I didn't just fall in love with your mom, I fell in love with you and with Michael. I know our family isn't the most conventional, but it is a family, and I feel like your mom." Twelve-year-old Henry is realizing that even though his family doesn't look like his friends' families, that doesn't have to be a bad thing.





	1. Chapter 1

"Henry!" Coach Freeman called, waiting for the boy to look up from the dribbling drills he was completing across the field. "Your mo- , I mean your, um, step-mother?" He trailed off. "Your ride is here!" he yelled again, more confidently.

"It's his mom's _girlfriend_ ," Jake teased, loud enough for the boys around him to hear, kicking his ball toward Henry's legs as the blond boy started jogging toward the bench to collect his belongings. "What do you even call her, LaMontagne?"

The other boys laughed. "Well, if they're not married, she's nothing to him," Dylan piped up. "That's what my mom said about dad's girlfriend. 'She gets no say in the way you're raised, Dylan,'" he mocked. "'We'll re-assess if she's ever got a ring on her finger.'"

Henry felt himself reddening as he took a long drink from his water bottle. "Shut up, guys. It's not like that."

"Hey, man, we're just teasing," Jake claimed, raising his hands in surrender.

"Yeah, Henry, relax," his friend Max added, turning to address the other boys. "Agent Prentiss is awesome. I've been to their house a bunch of times. She's lived there since like what, third grade? She's real nice to Henry and his brother."

Dylan rolled his eyes. "Amanda's always nice when people are watching too. Doesn't mean she likes me though. Pretty sure she gets annoyed when I stay there 'cause I take my dad's attention away from her. Your mom treat you different when the girlfriend's not around, Henry?"

"Leave it alone, guys." Henry tossed his water bottle into his drawstring bag and slung both that and his backpack over his shoulder. "I gotta go."

"Better not keep _your ride_ waiting," Dylan yelled after him. "I'd hate to see her get fed up with you and leave your mom, too! Not like she's even got her own kids worth sticking around for!"

"Screw you, Dylan," Henry gritted out under his breath, surprising even himself with his use of language. He'd heard worse in the halls and on the soccer field, but he'd never said anything like that aloud before. Breaking into a run, Henry tried to put some distance between himself and his teammates before he felt the urge to scream it even louder.

"Have a good weekend, Henry!" Coach Freeman waved, completely unaware of the conversation his players were engaging in on the other side of the field and how his own words had gotten it started. "See you Monday!"

Slowing down as he crested the hill at the edge of the soccer field and Emily's SUV came into view, Henry steeled himself with a few deep breaths. Opening the back door, he threw his bags on the floor with a little more force than intended.

"Hey, bud," Emily greeted. "Cleats off before you get in, don't forget." Henry sighed, kicking off his cleats as he pulled a pair of sandals out of his drawstring bag, swapping his footwear with a roll of his eyes. Hopping into the front seat and buckling his seatbelt, he slammed the door shut. He could feel Emily's eyes on him but refused to make eye contact yet, staring out the window instead. "How was practice?"

"Fine."

"Just fine?" Emily asked, sliding the car into drive and beginning to navigate out of the school's back parking lot.

"Yup."

Twelve was a hard age for everybody, and Henry was no exception. In so many ways he was still a little boy, but seemingly out of nowhere he was becoming a young man. It wasn't unheard of for him to have a surly day now and then, but he always managed to recognize it and pull himself out of it so quickly it barely registered to those around him. Emily sighed, eyeing him briefly before pulling out onto the main road. "'Practice was great,'" she lowered her voice an octave in imitation, even though Henry's voice was not yet any lower than her own. "'How was your day?'"

Hoping for a laugh or even a smile, anything to break the ice, Emily was disappointed to get no reaction at all. "Alright then," she sighed. "How 'bout this? 'Practice sucked, Emily. I scored four times on my own goalie before I realized I was wearing my underwear outside of my shorts.'" Henry at least looked at her this time, and Emily was surprised to see his face red and his eyes shimmering with tears. "Henry? Are you okay?"

"Did you hear him?" he spoke, finally.

"Hear who, buddy?"

"Coach. When he called me over when you got there."

Emily shook her head. "No, I didn't. I'm sorry. What did he say?"

"He called you my mom. Well, he started to, and then he stopped, and then he didn't know what to call you."

Emily breathed out. "Okay. And how did that make you feel?"

"I don't know. Weird. Embarrassed, maybe?" They were both quiet for a minute while they sat at a red light, only continuing the conversation again when the car was in motion. "It's not that _you_ embarrass me, it's just…" he trailed off again. "The other kids say stuff sometimes too."

Emily swallowed her anger, schooling her features to remain as calm and neutral as possible, doing her best to let Henry lead the conversation. "Like what?"

"Well, they all laughed. And Jake said you were just mom's girlfriend, like he thought it was so funny."

"Wait a second," Emily interrupted gently, looking quizzically at Henry. "Isn't Jake the one with two moms?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Well, why would he make fun of you if he has two moms too?"

"I _don't_ ," Henry whispered, then louder: "I don't have two moms."

"Oh, right," Emily agreed softly. "I suppose you don't." They were quiet again for a minute. "So it's not a gay thing?"

Henry let out a quiet chuckle, and Emily breathed a sigh of relief at the first signs of his usual cheerful personality peeking through. "Nope, not a gay thing."

"I'm glad."

"It just doesn't seem fair," Henry continued, pinching the bridge of his nose in a way that was just so _JJ_ Emily couldn't hold back a slight smile. "Everybody else's families just seem so… _normal_ , you know? And mine is…they just don't get it."

Emily's heart leapt into her throat upon hearing Henry's voice crack a little as he spoke, and she fought the urge to reach her hand across the center console in an attempt to provide him some kind of comfort. Settling for resting her hand on the gearshift instead, she paused a moment, giving the boy an opportunity to continue before saying anything herself. "What do you mean?" she asked gently, prompting him to elaborate upon realizing he wasn't going to on his own.

"Like the guys on the team," he shrugged. "Most of them have two parents and they all live in the same house together. Moms and dads, or just moms, or whatever. They're _regular_ families."

"There must be other kids whose parents are divorced like yours," Emily prodded. Will and JJ had been separated for five years, but worked so hard to continue to co-parent their boys, remaining constant fixtures in each other's lives despite the fact their marriage hadn't worked out.

"Yeah," Henry agreed, "but it's different than for us. Dylan's dad has a girlfriend and, like, none of them even like each other. Dylan's mom doesn't want her in their lives, and she doesn't like Dylan at all."

"Henry, your mom and dad work really hard to make sure that's not what your life is like."

"I know, I know," Henry responded earnestly. "And I'm not saying that our way is wrong. People just don't get it. They think our family is weird and they act like you don't even matter, and…" Henry paused, realizing he had been speaking faster and faster. "I don't want you to leave because me and Michael get in the way of you having the relationship you want with mom."

"Sweetheart, that could never happen," Emily responded, giving in and reaching her hand over, settling it on Henry's knee and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'm not going to promise you that your mom and I will be together forever, because I can't see the future and I know that's not fair to you. I hope that we are, but I know that you know that sometimes relationships just aren't meant to be no matter how hard adults try to make it work, right?" Henry nodded. "But what I can promise you is that you and your brother have never and will never have anything but a positive impact on our relationship. Do you understand me?"

"I just…I love my dad. He's my dad, you know?" Emily nodded, wanting so badly to pull the car over and pull Henry into her arms, but knowing that he was much more likely to continue the conversation as they drove, the safety of sitting side by side with limited direct eye contact helping him to feel more comfortable sharing his emotions. "But sometimes I can't help but wish that you were just my mom instead."

Squeezing Henry's knee again before taking her hand back and running it through her hair, Emily took a minute to determine her response. "What do you think would be different if I were?" she spoke, finally.

"People wouldn't say things about our family."

"I mean with us, bud. What would be different with us?"

Henry looked down at his lap, really thinking about the question. "I don't know," he shrugged. "I've never _technically_ had another mother. What do you think?"

"Well, I've never _technically_ been a mother," she answered honestly. "But I always imagined it would look a lot like this."

Henry looked up, meeting her gaze. "Like what?"

"Like driving an SUV back and forth to soccer practice, and making sure you take your muddy cleats off before you mess up my floorboards. Like throwing in a load of your sweaty almost-teenage boy laundry before I order your favorite pizza for dinner. Like feeling so proud to have such a smart and sensitive and _mature_ conversation with you when you're feeling upset about something, but feeling a little sad at the same time because it seems like just yesterday that I could fix one of your bad days just by curling up on the couch with you and watching _Finding Nemo_ , and I don't think we're going to get that back again.

"I've been around in some form or another since the beginning, Henry. I held you in the hospital on the day you were born. Over the years, I didn't just fall in love with your mom, I fell in love with you and with Michael. And maybe I don't tell you that enough, maybe I'm too careful because I never want you to feel like I'm trying to replace your dad. I know our family isn't the most conventional, but it is a family, and I _feel_ like your mom."

This time Henry was the one to reach across the center console, grabbing Emily's hand and giving it a brief squeeze. "I know," he spoke softly. "I just wish everybody else understood how it is too, you know?"

"I do, bud, I do." Emily hesitated. "Remember when you met my mother a couple years ago?"

Henry nodded. "She came for Thanksgiving dinner but left before dessert."

"Right," she confirmed, blowing out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "She told me that she thought your mom was lovely and you and Michael were delightful, but that I should stop 'playing house' with you guys and put some effort into starting my own family so that she could spend holidays with her own grandchildren." Emily paused, gauging Henry's reaction before continuing. "I told her that you _are_ my family, and she could either get on board with that and have pie with me, my partner, and the fabulous grandsons she already has, or she could leave."

He was quiet a moment, studying his hands in his lap. "Were you sad that she decided to leave?"

"Of course I was," Emily admitted, slowing down as she made the turn into their neighborhood. "But do you remember what happened next?"

Henry shook his head.

"We put Michael to bed, and then you and your mom and me ate an entire chocolate pie between the three of us, and then we snuggled on the couch together and watched the repeat of the Macy's parade. And every time I started to feel sad, I'd kiss your mom or listen to you laugh or peek in on Michael sleeping in his room and remember that I had everything I ever needed in the whole world, right there in our house."

Henry smiled for the first time since he'd gotten in the car, but Emily could see it didn't reach his eyes. "I wish I had a better answer for you, sweetheart," she spoke softly, pulling into their driveway and parking beside JJ's SUV. "I know we still have to figure out how to handle your friends, but know that you're not alone in this, not ever, okay?" Henry nodded. "Your mom and your dad and I are all here for you and we will work together with you to figure this out, I promise."

"Thanks, Emily," Henry spoke seriously, reaching behind him to grab his bags before getting out of the car. Looking back at her, his smile widened and his eyes brightened as he spoke again. "Are we really ordering pizza tonight? I'm hungry."

"You bet," Emily grinned.

"Sweet."


	2. Chapter 2

"Henry! Emily!" Michael cried, bounding to the front door with a Spiderman action figure in one hand and a Batman in the other. "Guess what!"

"What?!" Emily laughed, scooping the five-year-old up into her arms and spinning once before steadying herself on the front door, shifting the boy to her hip.

"I got my orange belt today!" Michael exclaimed, motioning down to the new belt wrapped snuggly around his waist.

"No way!" Emily smiled, setting him on the floor and kneeling in front of him, examining his new belt closely. "That is the most beautiful orange belt I've ever seen! Did Mommy take a video of you during your orange belt test?"

"Of course," JJ smiled as she rounded the corner, ruffling Michael's hair as she pressed a quick kiss to Emily's cheek. "Hi baby," she greeted Henry, pulling him in for a hug.

"Hi Mom," Henry half-heartedly returned the hug. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up, okay?" JJ nodded, her eyes lingering on his face an extra few seconds, sensing that something was up with her oldest boy. "Congrats on the orange belt, Mikey."

Emily observed the frown on JJ's face as she watched Henry climb the stairs before turning back to the younger child. "Well, I can't wait to see that video! Why don't you go play for ten more minutes while I order some pizza for dinner and Henry takes his shower, and then you can tell me all about your day while we do bath time and jammies. Sound good?"

"And then after we can watch the video?"

"Definitely," Emily promised, giving his orange belt a gentle tug before standing back up to full height, only to lean down again and press a quick kiss to the top of his head. "Now go play!"

Michael scampered off down the hallway, already immersed in a scene with his action figures as Emily wrapped her arms around JJ. "Hi," she whispered, breathing in JJ's unique smell as she felt a wave of calm, of _home_ , wash over her. They had said goodbye at the office not even three hours earlier when JJ left for Michael's karate ceremony, but there was something so right about being together in their home at the end of a long week that Emily needed a minute to revel in the feeling.

"Hi," JJ whispered in response, rubbing a hand gently up and down Emily's back as she felt her lover take in a shuddering breath. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah," Emily responded, then more confidently, "Yes, we're okay. Henry just…he had a rough practice. The guys on his team were saying stuff about our family, and I think he's just still processing how he feels about it and what he should do, you know?"

JJ's face fell as she shook her head. "Kids can be so cruel. We should set up a meeting with the coach and – "

"Woah, Jay, slow down," Emily pulled back, making eye contact. "Henry is a good kid. _He_ brought it up to me, and I know he's going to talk to you too. Listen to him, see what he has to say. I told him that we'd be here to help him, but I think he needs to figure out his own feelings on this one." Emily felt her heart begin to race, fearing that despite the positivity of their earlier conversation, giving Henry the space he needed to figure out his own feelings could end with the two of them pushed further apart instead of being brought closer together. Although they had left things on a positive note upon getting out of the car, Henry seemed so sullen and withdrawn again upon entering the house.

JJ nodded, the nervous feeling in her stomach subsiding with Emily's words but amping back up again at the uncertainty in her eyes. "I'll talk to him while you're helping Michael get cleaned up, and maybe you and I can have a chat after the boys get to bed?" Emily nodded, knowing that with how well JJ could read her after all these years, there would be no compartmentalizing of these feelings. "Good," JJ smiled, nodding her head once at the finalization of the plan. "Go order that pizza."

* * *

"Where's Emily?" Henry asked as he wandered into the kitchen, peeking into the adjoining family room in his search for the woman.

"Upstairs," JJ responded, smiling gently at her son. In his flannel pants and long sleeve t-shirt and with his still-damp hair combed back, he looked so much like the little boy he had been not so long ago, and JJ had to blink her eyes to bring the young man that stood before her into focus. "She's helping Michael with his bath."

"Oh," Henry nodded, sitting in his seat at the kitchen table. JJ had set out plates and napkins before he had come down, and Henry took his napkin into his hands, watching intently as he folded and unfolded it. "Did she tell you what happened?"

"A little bit," JJ answered honestly. "She said the guys were giving you a hard time about our family."

Henry was quiet for a moment, keeping his eyes focused on the napkin instead of making eye contact with his mother. "Why aren't you and Emily married?"

JJ couldn't hide the surprise on her face at the question, and took a minute to think through her response. "Well, I was married before, to your dad. We loved each other very much, and we still do because our love is what allowed us to have you and your brother. But we're not _in love_ any more, baby."

"Because you're in love with Emily."

"Well, not _because_ , exactly. Dad and I still wouldn't be in love even if Emily wasn't in the picture."

"But you are in love with her. I mean, you guys kiss and like… do all the stuff married people do, right?"

JJ was momentarily glad her son was avoiding eye contact as she couldn't help the small smile that sprang to her lips as he blushed. "Yeah, baby. Emily and I are in love in the same ways that married people are."

"And it's legal for you to be married, even though you're both women. We learned about that in social studies."

"You're right."

"So then why aren't you? Is it because you're afraid to get divorced again?"

JJ sucked in a deep breath. Henry wasn't beating around the bush, and she could tell how important this conversation was to him. Although she still wasn't exactly sure what had transpired that brought this conversation on, Emily had been right – Henry was working hard to figure it out for himself and the best thing she could do was support him on his journey. "Honestly, honey, marriage isn't something that Emily and I have talked a lot about. I did not love your dad any differently after we got married, and it didn't stop us from growing and changing to the point where our relationship didn't work out either. I guess I just think of marriage as a piece of paper that makes filing your taxes different, but doesn't change a whole lot else."

Henry looked up at her but remained silent, so JJ continued. "I love Emily. And if it was important to her to get married, we would talk about it, all of us together, and make the right decision for our family."

"Do you think she doesn't want to be our step-mother?" he whispered.

JJ scooted her chair back, reaching over and pulling Henry into her lap even despite the fact that he was almost as tall as she was. "Oh, baby, no, I don't think that's it at all. I think…I think Emily doesn't feel like we need to get married to become your step-mother, because she already feels like she is."

Henry sighed, wrapping his arms around his mother's neck. "That's what she said, too."

JJ's heart soared at hearing those words. Though Emily had eagerly jumped in with both feet and never batted an eyelash at acquiring a whole family when she and JJ first got together, JJ had never heard Emily confirm what her actions so clearly demonstrated – that she believed herself to be as much of a mother to the boys as JJ was. She'd changed just as many of Michael's diapers, alternated taking time off when the nanny was on vacation, did school drop-offs and pick-ups and packed lunches. Even just tonight, though there had been a short discussion about who would attend Michael's ceremony and who would pick up Henry from practice, there was never a question that Emily would be taking on one of the roles and JJ the other. Emily loved on the boys as if they were her own, and was clearly their mother in all but genetics. "It sounds like you and Emily already had a good talk."

Henry nodded. "We did. I guess I'm just feeling a little bit insecure 'cause the guys on the team were saying that we weren't a real family, and then Dylan said that Emily might want to leave because we're not really her kids."

"Did you and Emily talk about that?"

"Uh huh. She said that Michael and I could never be bad for your relationship. And she said that she told her mother that we are her grandsons when she was bugging Emily about having other kids."

JJ kissed the top of his head, not surprised to learn that Emily had handled what could have been a difficult conversation with such grace. "Did it help you feel better when she said that?"

"Yeah, I think so." Henry sighed. "When it's just a regular day and it's just me and Michael and you and Emily here at home, I don't think about it at all. It's just normal, our family." JJ nodded, waiting for her son to continue. "But then somebody who doesn't know our family, and who doesn't get it, they say something that makes me feel like our family is bad, or wrong, or…weird. And it makes me doubt things, you know?"

JJ pressed another kiss to Henry's forehead, rocking him back and forth in her lap. "You're a smart young man," she whispered. "And I'm really proud of how you're talking to me about your feelings, even though those feelings are kind of tricky."

Henry wiggled out of JJ's embrace, straightening back up to his full height, the little boy in him vanishing once again. "Emily said that, too."

"She did, huh?"

"Yeah. I guess it really is like I have two moms."

JJ smiled. "I guess so, baby."


	3. Chapter 3

"My god, Jay," Emily groaned, leaning forward to give her partner better access. "Your fingers are magic."

JJ snorted. "Oh, I could show you just how magical they really are if you wanna move this party to the bedroom."

"In a minute," Emily responded, stretching her neck to the right as JJ worked out a knot in her left shoulder. "Ohhh," she moaned again. "Right there."

Blushing slightly, JJ dug her fingers in deeper, massaging the tense muscle until she felt it start to relax. Moving her hands up Emily's neck, she began to scratch gently just above her hairline, feeling the other woman turn even more to putty in her hands. "So, Henry said you guys had a good talk on the way home."

Emily reluctantly pulled away from JJ's touch, resettling on the couch so they sat facing each other. "He was so upset and I…I wanted to help him so badly, but I don't even know if I said the right things."

"You always do, Em," JJ said, taking Emily's hand in her own as she began to trace senseless patterns across her palm.

"The coach called me his mom and I guess it prompted the other boys to point out that I'm not, and I'm under the impression they insinuated that we're not a real family because I have no official…" Emily paused, searching for the right word. "I'm not officially tied to your family."

" _Our_ family," JJ corrected, squeezing Emily's hand in her own and leaning down slightly to catch Emily's gaze. "Don't tell me you're buying into this nonsense?"

"No, no, no," Emily shook her head. "I'm not, I promise. I love you, and I love the boys, and I'm all in. I can just see where Henry's coming from, is all. It's so easy when it's just us here at home, but out in the world I feel like we have to constantly explain our family and apologize for not fitting into some neat little box. It's frustrating."

"Henry said the same thing," JJ smiled. Turning Emily's hand over in her own, she began to lazily trace the outline of her fingers, needing to feel that connection, and needing to be sure Emily felt it as well. "Emily, you do know that I've never thought of us as anything less than a family, right? As far as I'm concerned, you are just as much of a parent to the boys as Will and I are, and I know Henry and Michael would agree." She paused, lacing their fingers together and turning her gaze back toward Emily's face. "I think even you'd agree, at least when you're not being brainwashed by a bunch of middle school jerks."

Emily chuckled. "I told Henry I feel like his mom," she sobered, JJ's soft smile encouraging her to continue. "And truthfully, I do, at least when he and I both don't think too hard about it. It's even easier with Michael," she shrugged, smiling. "I don't think kindergarteners think too hard about much of anything."

JJ grinned. "You know how to defrost chicken nuggets, and you've got the key to that boy's heart." She leaned in, resting her head on Emily's shoulder. "Wouldn't it be nice if we all just retained that ability to accept and love so unconditionally?"

"We'd probably be out of a job," Emily agreed, pressing a kiss to the top of JJ's head.

The two settled into comfortable silence for a moment before JJ spoke again. "Henry asked me why we aren't married." She felt Emily's breath hitch and then go back to normal again before she continued. "I don't think it'll change anything between us, so I honestly haven't given it much thought. I've been married before, Em, and we know how that worked out. But if it was something you wanted…"

"JJ, I…" Emily trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

"I'm not looking for an answer," JJ continued. "I'm not really even asking a question. I just want you to know that I love you, and the boys love you, and if you ever feel like you needed to make our family more…official, I'm willing to have that conversation."

"Thank you," Emily whispered. "I love you."

JJ smiled contentedly, then sat back looking Emily in the eye again. "Alright, what is it?" she spoke. "I can tell you're holding something back. Did I freak you out using the 'M word'? Because it wasn't a proposal, I swear." She stopped, raising an eyebrow. "Unless you wanted it to be. We can talk about that, Emily."

"No, no," Emily shook her head, "that's not it." She paused, thinking back to the Emily of fifteen years ago and how hard anyone would have had to work to get her to divulge even the most surface-level emotions. One look from JJ and she was pouring her heart out, the walls of the compartments she'd worked so hard to build long ago torn down by the woman she loved. "I trust you completely, and I know that if anything ever happened between us you would never try to use the boys against me, or keep me from seeing them. I don't worry about that. But in our line of work, you can never be sure what the future holds. And if god forbid something ever happened to you," she paused, trying to subtly wipe away the tears that had sprung to her eyes. "I don't know how I would go on without you, Jennifer, but to then lose them too…"

"That's not gonna happen, babe," JJ spoke, tears springing to her eyes in a mirror of Emily's own. "I promise."

"But you can't make that promise," Emily whispered. "You wouldn't be here to keep it. I know they'd go to Will, and they should, he's their father. And he's a good guy and I know he'd do what he thought was best for them. But what if he thinks the best thing is to cut them off from any reminders of their life with us? What if he moves them back to New Orleans? What if something happens to him too and they get shipped off to live with his aunt and uncle? Even if we got married, the boys still wouldn't be officially tied to me in any way. But they _are_ my family, Jennifer. I can't lose my family."

"Sweetheart, take a breath," JJ soothed, running her thumbs under Emily's eyes to catch the few tears that had started to fall. "I agree with you, you don't have to convince me."

Emily blinked back more tears, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," JJ said seriously. "If anything ever happened to me, they'd need you even more than they already do. And I trust you to do right by them. I'm not going to take any chances on that. I'll talk to Will this weekend and call the lawyer on Monday. We'll get something in writing, okay? Nobody's going to break up this family."

"Thank you," Emily whispered.

JJ leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to Emily's lips. "I love you."

"I know. I love you too." Emily pushed a strand of hair behind JJ's ear, leaning back in and deepening their kiss. Several moments later found her gently pushing JJ onto her back on the couch, laying her own body atop the other woman's as she moved her lips to JJ's neck, her hands beginning to explore under the hem of JJ's shirt.

"Emily, wait," JJ broke in, the brief sting she saw in Emily's eyes soothed with another chaste kiss, her hands remaining wrapped around the other woman's back. "I just need to say one more thing, okay?" Emily nodded. "I know that I take you for granted sometimes –"

"Jennifer," Emily protested, silenced quickly by JJ's lips on hers again.

"No, let me finish, babe. When we started dating, and when you moved in here, it was all just so easy, you know? And it felt so right, not just you and me, but with the boys, too. You jumped right in with no questions asked, and the way you love them just amazes me. But all of that makes it easy to forget that it doesn't _have to_ be like that, that our family isn't one we talked about beforehand and agreed to have together. You _are_ their mom, Em, and I think it's even more special that it's because you want to be and not because you have to be. So thank you. I don't say that enough."

Emily reached her hand up, caressing the side of JJ's face, her eyes again shining with unshed tears. "Jennifer, I am _honored_ to be allowed to love you all. Thank _you_."

"When did we get to be so sappy?" JJ laughed, wiping the tears from her own eyes, then Emily's.

"I guess it's just a part of growing old together."

"I guess so." JJ smiled, picking her head up to allow her lips to meet Emily's again. "Now where were we?"

"Mmm," Emily breathed, moving her lips back to JJ's neck, her hand returning to the hem of JJ's shirt, pushing it up slightly as she felt the muscles jump under her touch. "Right about here, I think?"

JJ turned her head to the side, granting Emily better access to her neck. "This certainly works for me."


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Henry? Are you awake?"

Henry peeked an eye open to see his little brother standing at the foot of his bed. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he leaned over to grab his glasses off his nightstand, sitting up and clearing his throat. "I am now, Michael. What do you want?"

"It's 7:20," Michael spoke, pointing to the alarm clock next to Henry's bed.

"And?"

"And _Batman_ comes on at 7:30 on Saturdays! Do you wanna watch with me?"

Henry sighed, but threw his covers back and slid out of bed. "You know, I'm almost a teenager. I'm gonna be too old for Saturday morning cartoons soon."

"No you're not," Michael shrugged. "Emily still watches cartoons and she's like, really old."

"Don't let her hear you say that."

"Okay," Michael agreed, shrugging again.

Henry smiled. Sometimes their seven-year age gap made it feel like he had nothing in common with his brother, but the older he got, the more Henry was able to appreciate his role as Michael's older sibling. "I gotta use the bathroom," he said, ruffling the younger boy's hair. "Go get us some cereal and I'll meet you in the family room."

* * *

Henry found Michael sitting on the floor at the coffee table, two bowls of cereal and a gallon of milk set out before him. "I didn't wanna pour the milk in case it spilled. It's kinda full," Michael smiled, pointing to the breakfast he'd set out. "And Mommy and Emily are still sleeping. Can you do that part?"

"Yeah, of course," Henry nodded, picking up the milk and carefully pouring a little into each bowl before returning the carton to the refrigerator. He knew Michael looked up to him, and Henry took that seriously. It was his job to stick up for his little brother, and he hated to think that Michael's friends might be giving him a hard time about their family, too. "Hey, Mikey?" he asked, returning to the coffee table and picking up his spoon. "Mom and Emily both take you to karate sometimes, right?"

"Yup," Michael nodded. "And sometimes Dad does, or Grandma. Or Christine when Mommy and Emily have to go away for work," he said, referring to their nanny who lived-in when both JJ and Emily had to be out of town for a case.

"When Emily takes you, do your friends say anything about her?"

"Yeah," Michael nodded, his face serious. Henry felt his heart sink, unsure how he could help his brother deal with the feelings he was only just starting to figure out himself. "Sometimes Rosie calls her my loud mom."

"Does that bother you?"

Michael shook his head. "Not really. Emily does cheer really loud sometimes. Once Sensei had to ask her to quiet down because she was being sorta distracting."

"I mean the 'mom' part. Does that bother you?"

Michael looked surprised. "No, why?"

"She's not actually our mom," Henry said gently. "You know that, right?"

"Well, yeah," Michael agreed. "But she kinda is." Henry just looked at him, so Michael continued. "My teacher asked if she was my mom, and I said yes. Is that bad?"

Henry blinked, not sure how to answer his little brother's question. "Umm, no? I don't think it's bad. She's a lot like our mom."

"Yeah," Michael nodded. "Ms. Pierce asked why I don't call her mom, so I told her she's not just my mom, she's my Momily." He smiled, clearly proud of himself. "Get it? 'Cause she's a mom, but she's Emily! She's a Momily!"

Henry couldn't help his smile. "A Momily?"

"Yeah!" Michael laughed. "It's kinda funny, huh?"

"It is," Henry agreed, pointing to the television as the _Batman_ theme music started up. "Your show's on."

"Yes!" Michael cheered, immediately enthralled in the adventures of the characters on-screen.

Paying only half-attention to the cartoon, Henry sat back and watched his brother. Being so much older, Henry was used to things being easier for him when Michael struggled. It felt strange to have something that had brought up so many feelings for him be such a non-issue for the younger boy. For what was probably the first time, Henry needed learn from his younger brother instead of the other way around.

"Mikey?" Henry asked again at the start of the first commercial break.

Michael looked up from the action figures he had been positioning on the coffee table, recreating a scene from the segment he had just watched, his bowl of cereal, now empty, acting as the dungeon where the bad guys had congregated.

"Does Emily know that you said she was your," he paused, making air quotes, "'Momily'?"

"I can't remember," Michael shrugged. "I don't think I told her."

"Do you think she'd care?"

"I bet she'd think it was funny," Michael responded. "'Cause it is."

Henry smiled. "I bet you're right." He looked at his little brother again. "You know Emily really loves us, right, even though we already have a mom and dad?"

"Yeah," Michael nodded. "Duh."

"Okay, good." They sat in silence a moment before Henry spoke again. "If for any reason you ever start to doubt that or if the other kids at school make you feel like our family is weird or not as good as theirs, will you tell me?"

"Sure," Michael shrugged. "But why would they do that?"

"I don't know," Henry admitted. "I hope they won't." He paused again, watching as Michael rearranged his action figures, copying some of the lines of dialogue he'd just heard. "You know, you're really smart for a kindergartener."

Michael grinned. "I know! Now be quiet, the show's back!"


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, bud," Emily greeted, seeing the top of Henry's head over the back of the couch as she walked into the family room with a cup of coffee. "Where are Mom and Michael?"

"They went out back to kick a ball around," Henry responded, closing the book he had been looking at and sliding it behind himself.

"You didn't want to play?"

"Nah, not right now," Henry shrugged. "It's only 8:30, I don't know how Michael has so much energy this early in the morning."

"You're telling me," Emily smiled. "I'm kind of surprised you're up already, actually. Couldn't sleep?"

"Michael woke me up to watch TV with him. I thought about going back to bed when Mom came down, but…" he trailed off, shrugging again.

Emily nodded in understanding, sitting down beside Henry. "I do my best thinking first thing in the morning."

Henry nodded, hesitating a moment before reaching behind himself and pulling out the album. "I was looking at this."

"Oh, is that your book?" Emily asked, referring to the scrapbook chronicling Henry's childhood JJ had put together, with Garcia's help, of course. "Can I look with you?"

Scooting over to sit next to Emily, Henry flipped to the first page, a newborn picture with his full name, birth date and time, and vital statistics listed out below. "Oh, Henry," Emily cooed, "look at you! You were so tiny!"

Henry blushed before flipping to the next page. "There's you," he pointed, picking out a picture near the center of a full-page collage depicting baby Henry meeting so many of his friends and relatives for the first time. "You look a little scared."

Emily laughed. "That's because I was. I had never held a baby so new, buddy, not before you or since you. You were only like, two hours old, and so tiny and fragile. I was nervous that I was going to hurt you. I think Michael was the second-youngest baby I've ever held. I was still in London when he was born and he was almost three weeks old by the time I got to meet him. He seemed like a full-grown man compared to you."

Henry smiled. "Why did you hold me then, if you were scared? You didn't have to."

"Hey," Emily spoke softly, wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulders and pulling him to her. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

Allowing himself to relax in her touch, Henry rested his head against Emily's shoulder before turning to the next page. "That was the first time I smiled," he pointed, "and there's the first time I ate real food."

"Peaches."

"How did you know that?" Henry asked, surprised.

"I was there, bud. I took that picture."

"Really?" Henry asked. "I always just assumed Dad did, since Mom's in it."

"Nope," Emily smiled. "Your mom and dad worked opposite schedules as much as possible so somebody could be home with you. I'm sure your dad wanted to be there but your doctor really wanted you to start eating table food and their schedules just never lined up at the right time of day. Your mom was terrified you were going to choke or have some kind of allergic reaction, so I came over for moral support."

"Did you spend a lot of time here when I was a baby?" Henry asked.

"Yeah, I tried to. I was here a few days later when you tried green beans, and then spit them out all over my new white shirt."

Henry smiled, then became serious again, craning his neck to look up at Emily. "Were you and Mom…I mean, did you guys…?"

"No, sweetheart," Emily broke in, understanding what Henry was trying to ask. "I won't lie to you, there was a part of me that already knew I loved your mom even before she ever met your dad, but I was scared to ruin our friendship so I didn't say anything and then next thing I knew you were here. And that day you were born when I held you in the hospital, I promised myself that I would keep my feelings a secret. I already loved you so much that I didn't want to do anything that could mess up the relationship between your parents."

"But weren't you unhappy?" Henry asked, quietly.

Emily nodded. "I was, sometimes. But I also knew that having you and your mom in my life, even if it wasn't the way I wished it was, was better than not having you in my life at all."

"I'm really glad it all worked out in the end."

Emily smiled, leaning over to press a kiss atop the head resting on her shoulder. "So am I."

"I'm sorry about yesterday," Henry whispered. "I was being stupid."

"No, sweetheart, you weren't. There is nothing stupid about sharing your feelings, and you have nothing to apologize for."

"But I doubted you," Henry continued. "I let the guys get in my head, and I acted like I was questioning if you're a real part of our family. I did exactly what I was upset about other people doing."

Emily pulled back in an attempt to make eye contact, placing two fingers under Henry's chin and gently tilting his head to look up at her. "Henry, I understand. I am not upset with you."

Henry smiled sadly, sighing and settling back against Emily. "I talked to Michael this morning. I thought that maybe his friends said stuff sometimes too, and I wanted to give him advice and try to protect him."

"You're a great brother," Emily said, running a hand soothingly through his hair. "What did he say?"

Henry shook his head. "I thought I'd be helping him, but actually I think he helped me. I know he's only five, but he just…it's like he doesn't even care what other people think, because nobody's ever told him he should. And I wanna try to be more like that, you know? If the guys on the team are saying stuff I'm just going to ignore them, because it's not any of their business anyway. Our family is our family, and we're the only ones who get to decide how we feel about that."

"That is an incredibly mature attitude," Emily agreed. "And I am so proud of you."

Henry giggled. "Do you know what Michael told me?"

"What, buddy?"

"He tells people you're his Momily."

"His what?" Emily asked, her smile growing with Henry's quiet laughter.

"Momily," Henry said again. "Because you're a mom and an Emily."

"Momily," Emily repeated, laughing too. "I like that!"

Henry wrapped an arm around Emily's waist, lying against her, forgetting himself for a moment that he wasn't a little boy anymore. They sat silently for several moments as Emily flipped slowly through the scrapbook and Henry relaxed in the calm of feeling Emily's chest rise and fall under his head with each breath. "Do you ever wish…I mean, does it bother you…" he trailed off.

"What is it, sweetheart?" Emily asked, her hand drawing senseless patterns on his back.

"You've always been Emily, but do you think we should call you mom instead?"

Emily felt her breath hitch as tears sprang to her eyes yet again, and she took a moment to determine the right words before responding. "How about you call me whatever feels right to you? Does that work?"

Henry sat up, a glint in his eye as he looked to Emily. "Whatever?"

"Within reason," Emily smiled, poking him in the side.

"Okay, Agent Prentiss, ma'am," Henry grinned, ducking away as Emily playfully swatted at him, plopping back next to her on the couch as the back door opened and Michael and JJ came rushing in, laughing about their soccer game.

"Hey guys," Emily greeted, slinging her arm around Henry again.

"Morning, Emily!" Michael yelled, running the long way around the coffee table and jumping into Emily's lap.

"What's up, pal?" she asked, pulling him tighter against her with her other arm around his waist. "Were you and Mommy having fun?"

"Yeah!" he answered, "But we thought it would be more fun if we got you and Henry to play too!"

JJ smiled, perching on the edge of the coffee table just across from where all the people who mattered most in her life were piled on the couch. "Seems like a good day for a nice old-fashioned family game tournament. We'll start with some soccer in the yard, then move on to Yahtzee or something a little less active for you indoors-y sort," she laughed, nudging Emily's knee with her own.

"Hmm, what do you say, bud?" Emily asked, looking to Henry.

He grinned, winking at her. "Kids against moms?"

"Yes!" Michael cheered, wiggling off of Emily's lap and taking off for the door, Henry following.

JJ watched Emily as her eyes followed the boys to the door before standing and reaching her hand out. "You okay?" she asked as Emily's hand grasped hers and the other woman pulled up to a standing position.

"I am," Emily smiled, tearing her gaze away from the boys' retreating forms to make eye contact with the other woman. "Honestly, Jay, I think I'm happier than I've ever been."

"Me too," JJ agreed, swinging their joined hands as they walked together toward the back door. "Ready to kick some butt?"

Emily laughed. "Let's do this."


End file.
